Dylan Tate is the assistant director of adult puppet show Boris and Sergey’s Vaudevillian Theatre. Alexandra Rucki caught up with him before the show launches at Theatre 503.

Alexandra Rucki: What is Boris And Sergey’s Vaudevillian Christmas Adventure all about?

Dylan Tate: It is all about two brothers travelling the land looking to scam the audiences across the globe. There are skits and old school musical songs. Sergey is the lead straight man, Boris is the scheming one. He messes it all up. There is a lot of audience interaction and cross-cabaret piece. The boundaries are pushed to try and scam the audience.

AR: And who are Boris and Sergey?

DT: They are two brothers from Eastern Europe, generic Eastern Europe puppets. They have not got any parents or anything like that. They were both brought together to live together and tour around their shows and scam trying to make money. They love each other very much, but Sergey keeps getting frustrated at Boris messing up every show that they do.

AR: How are the puppets brought to life?

DT: They are bunraku-style puppets operated by six people. We don’t hide the puppeteers, we like to include them with our puppets.

AR: Why is the show deemed for “twisted adult audiences?”

DT: When Flabbergaster Theatre got together we wanted to make puppetry not just for children. The lovely thing about puppets is they can just get away with
anything.

AR: What makes this show different from your stereotypical Christmas production?

DT: It is very adult. It feels more like a night out than a Christmas show. It is very dark and twisted. Even though it is funny, at the end, the audience are hit with something really powerful. It makes everyone stop.

 

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